Blankets of Cloud
by foxtrotelly
Summary: If Hotaru and Natsume were to leave, what would become of their best friends Mikan and Ruka? It's alright though, because they've got each other's back. But what would happen in the end, would they ever see each other again?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Higuchi Tachibana-sensei owns GA. Not me. 

_(Note: This is my own version of the manga, 2 years from now, where all the characters are thirteen year olds)

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**Chapter 1: A Special Request**

_**Natsume's POV**_

The rain just kept on pouring down when I looked out the window, remembering clearly the words that bastard Persona said to me last night back at HQ…

"_Natsume, the academy would be in need of your urgent services, starting tomorrow."_

"_What do you mean 'Starting tomorrow'?"_

"_It means that the length of your undercover work would be indefinite, seeing that it is to be operated overseas."_

"_WHAT?!" I said, looking up to his face.  
"You heard me." He smirked._

"_Tch, ungrateful bastards." _

"_You'll have to report here tomorrow afternoon for the full briefing though, or else. I'll at least give you time to arrange some proper goodbyes to your so-called 'friends'."_

"_Yeah, yeah. I never even knew you had a heart."_

"_Well, let's just say I grew one thanks to a certain someone who always needed a lot consideration nowadays."_

"_Whatever."_

"Hey! Hey! Natsume!"

"Wha-?"

Ruka's concerned tone suddenly made me return to reality, back from my own cloud of worrying and fast-paced thoughts, as Koko called it.

"Uhh, yeah. I was just –"

"Deep in thought, as usual." Koko cut in.

Darn, he should really stop that, but what can I do? The poor guy always has to endure countless thoughts that may pester him for the rest of his everyday life. I won't even be surprised if he finally snaps one day. Speaking of which (thoughts), I just remembered that stupid meeting. Sigh, time to report. Those idiots would have to make it up to me for making me walk in this rain.

It's self-study period this afternoon, which means I'm outta here. I get up and don't get surprised by the numerous stares I earned while walking to the door. I noticed some eerie green ones, a concerned set of cornflowers (used to it, I get it all the time), a curious pair of purple eyes that seemed to linger on me for awhile but quickly looked down again on its latest prototype, and finally, my eyes locked on the familiar warm brown orbs that have always stood by me through these years. We had this strange staring contest, and of course, my hand finally moved from its place on the door handle, making me lose by counterfeit.

_**Mikan's POV**_

Wonder what he's up to right now. He's leaving again, as usual, which means nothing good would be able to come out of it as a result. How can he just leave the class with that regretful look on his eyes? They felt really, what's the word, distant too. That's just like Natsume, departing once again without even saying a word. How rude. I have to ask him later.

"It's no good if you just sit around there not putting your thoughts into actions, you know."

A voice from behind me mumbled. It was Hotaru. What's with her anyway? It's as if she has this power to read minds, just like Koko.

"And no, I can't read minds. You perfectly know that. Well, at least everyone knows that, except you, of course. Haii, haii, such an idiot…" Hotaru said, with a frown on her face.

"Bu-", I tried to reason with her, but I just got cut off again. Why does this always happen to me?

"Now go. That person can't wait forever." muttered Hotaru nonchalantly, pointing her baka gun to my head.

"Uhh…" I seemed at loss for words. What the heck? I wasn't even planning on going after Natsume. I just clearly thought that I was going to bug him about it later. And yet… Something still felt wrong about my decision.

"Go."

I was surprised to feel a warm hand on my shoulder; it was Ruka-pyon's. And the voice telling me to go was his. Actually, it was more of an order, so I'd have to say ordering.

"O-okay."

Was it an instinct of mine to always follow what Ruka-pyon says? It was like he had this solemn tone when he orders me to do something, and I can tell you that it was something I can't refuse. I mean, he rarely gives me orders, but when he does, I don't know, I just get this instinct to comply. Can he possibly have another alice? Voice pheromone perhaps, gotta ask him later.

I suddenly jolted to a stop when I felt cold water being dumped on my head. It was actually the rain. Oh. What is it with me and my weird assumptions today? They make me go so empty-headed that I don't even get to notice the things that took place around me.

I kept thinking and thinking, not even aware of the fact that I was walking on in the rain, only to get interrupted when I suddenly tripped on a hunched figure on the ground. My sight just got a bit hazy right after that fall. But who the hell - ?

It was –


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Rain Must Fall**

_**Natsume's POV**_

Ugh. I'm feeling very terrible right now. First of all, there's this cold rain that won't stop falling, I mean, I'm already drenched from head to toe here, and I don't think being out here in the cold, shivering, would be of any help to my pathetic condition right now. And second, ugh, this idiot that just seemed stupid enough to not look where he's going is still not getting off me.

_**Mikan's POV**_

What happened? The sound of falling rain, me being drenched in this cold rainwater, and this feeling of getting lifted up from the ground… and hitting it again. Ow. What the hell - ?

"Eh?" I said, while finally regain consciousness after recovering from that hard fall.

"You idiot! Why won't you watch where you're going? And why the hell are you out in this rain anyway?!" A haughty voice said from above me.

"God?"

My mistake. I'm guessing he won't sound this proud, or annoyed. My thoughts must have been shaken a bit, right after that second harder fall I just had…

My thoughts trailed off when I had this realization.

"Shoot. Natsume, what happened to you?" I said as I looked up to where he was standing.

"I walked in the rain, collapsed, and got tripped on by an idiot who wasn't looking her way. Nothing much I guess…" He replied, rather tonelessly, even after he said that he…

"You what?! Why?! How?! When?!..." I stopped the single-worded questions when I heard a muffled cough from where Natsume stood. From where he was standing, a small pool of blood has begun to form.

"NO!" I stood up quickly and rushed to his side.

"What the heck is wrong with you? And what were you planning anyway, going out in this rain! What the hell was that for?! Are you retarded?!" Again with the questions, I have to control myself more, from now on.

Natsume knelt to the ground, with the muffled coughs still escaping from him, even with his mouth covering his mouth and all. He was now kneeling on a puddle of blood, and I was running out of words to say…

"Let's go back." I held out my hand to him, and to my surprise, he took it and used all his strength to get back up. I heard him mumble something in between his coughs, but it was really hard to hear in this rain and the chattering of my teeth.

"What the –"I was even more surprised when he rested his head on my shoulder. What's with him today anyway? And then, as if by instinct, my arms took their places. My right arm was around him, and my left hand was resting on his head.

We both stayed in that spot in the same position for a few seconds, with only the loud sloshing of the rain and the distinct howls of the wind to be heard.

"I-I ha-have t-to go. Bad th-things, ha-have t-to watch out f-from now o-on." He stuttered, in between the sounds of some tiny coughs and chattering teeth.

His sudden words made me jump a little, but I perfectly understood where and why he had to go. Because if this was his own idea of being a hero, I wasn't going to let him go this time, not right now. I couldn't just let him do whatever those guys wanted, not when he seemed to be in his worst condition ever these past four months.

The rain was falling, even harder now than it was before.

"You're not going anywhere." I said as I held his hand to stop him from leaving.

"I have to." He had that very serious look on his eyes as he shook my hand off. Then, he started to walk, leaving me standing there alone, blank, and dripping wet. I blinked off the blankness, and the next thing I knew it, the guy was ten feet away from me, walking steadily but slowly, as if he had a hard time continuing so.

I can't, but I must. I don't feel up to it, but I have to. I run to Natsume and do something that was really against my will.

_**Natsume POV**_

For a brief moment, I was walking to my destination, but I guess I wasn't fast enough. I'm such an idiot; I should've known she was going to do something like this. First the rain beating down on me, and before I knew it, a pair of arms around my waist…

"What are you doing?" She tightened her hold.

"I'm saving you from doing something stupid." She replied, in a matter-of-fact tone, while holding on to me with all her might. She should know that she wasn't stronger than me, but then, those open arms were something that I didn't want to be free from at the moment.

"Well, it's about time I should save you the time. Now scram, I have my own business to attend to." I didn't want her to leave.

"You know very well that I won't let you leave." I was looking down on where she was as she said those words; her eyes were closed too, as if she was now using all of her strength to keep me glued to that spot. I felt it, obviously.

"Promise me Natsume, that you won't leave." She said that so seriously, word for word, I felt her concern and sympathy, and word for word, I felt my heart break even more.

_**Mikan's POV**_

The wind continued to howl along with the heavy drops of cold rain that went down on us endlessly as if the sky had to give away all its tears for that moment right there.

A short moment of silence, as though the world came to a stop, and then, something warm that trickled down my hand, which contrasted greatly against the frosty breaths of wind and rain.

He undid my hands from his waist and started to walk away, once again, leaving me behind, broken and cold. This rain felt even worse now, just like icy bullets that were being sent down from the sky.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: A Touch of Warmth**

_**Natsume's POV**_

The long hours just dragged by, as briefing was held in the headquarters. Half of the dangerous ability class was there, along with a few new extras I haven't seen before. To me they looked like inexperienced newbies who didn't even know what they were doing, despite the haughty and proud expressions they wore on their faces, thinking this was some sort of prestigious event, only held for the most excellent alices. That's just stupid, looks like they don't even know what they're in for. This batch must be that new haul Persona was talking about that he got while "fishing". This feels like we're going to need plenty of help for this operation, and by plenty, I mean a lot.

"Don't forget that this mission would require the best of your abilities combined together. 'Mercy' shall be unacceptable in dealing with these people, because when it comes to infiltrating a corporation via sea, everything would always be ten times as hard, so best be prepared. We shall be leaving in an hour." Dismissed. Stated Persona, as he left through the doors to arrange some "stuff".

I look over at the clock; it was half-past ten. Great, that means another sleepless night for me. Nobara was there too, beside the clock, leaning against the wall, gazing off somewhere, as if she was in deep thought. I go over to where she was and start to say something, only to be interrupted, once again, for the umpteenth time today.

"I know you want to see Mikan-chan and the others before you leave, but it's ok, I'll cover for you. Just don't take too long this time. Ok?" She said rather timidly and seriously at the same time. What a weird tone…

"Thank you." I said to her directly, looking her in the eye. She nodded in reply and watched me as I went out the window and made my way into the night.

_**Mikan's POV**_

"_She's been bothered by this fever all night, what do we do?"_

"_Quiet, Nogi. You'll wake her up."_

A loud bang, followed by a soft ow.

"_Who do you think would wake her up anyway?!"_

"_Whatever."_

"_Would you two please stop fighting?"_I heard a vaguely familiar voice say from my right.

I didn't know if I was imagining or dreaming this. The hushed voices have been continuing on for almost two hours now, and from what I'm hearing, I can easily identify three people beside me in my room right now.

"_Nogi won't shut up, Iinchou, can you do something about it?"_

"_Look who's talking."_

"_Can we just leave? I think we've made enough noise to wake up Mikan-chan."_

"_Ok."_Two voices said in unison.

I felt a series of gentle touches right after that.

"_Goodbye, Mikan-chan."_I felt soft gentle hands pull up my covers higher.

"_Have a good sleep, Sakura."_I felt an equally soft touch pat my hand, and linger on that spot for a bit.

"_Good night, Mikan."_The gentlest and smallest of the soft warm hands stroked my head and eyelids, as if casting a spell on them to stay closed for the rest of the night.

What strange dreams. It's been quiet for a long time now, and I eventually slipped into a cloud of unconsciousness. Not until I heard some muffled sounds by my window.

A very warm and strong hand seemed to have reached out to stroke my hair and pat my cheek. The hand was rough, because it felt awfully bruised and calloused. It resided there for awhile, and was lifted up from its spot. After that, I felt a soft kiss on my shoulder. I sensed the mute shuffling of feet and eyes that seemed to burn me with its gaze. There was a brief moment that the sharp chilly air entered my room, and then I heard the window close once again, followed by the still silence of the night and the lingering warmth of that certain person's touch.

Such odd dreams, indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Impossible Wishes**

_**Natsume's POV**_

I closed my eyes as I felt the sea breeze blow through my face and hair, making it messier than it was before. I needed to get some rest, but I knew that was impossible wish for someone like me, and the only thing that was keeping me awake was the scent of salt water that has sort of become another type of oxygen for a seaborne Kikenouryoku-kei guy such as myself. It's two weeks since I left the academy, and I'm feeling really isolated from everyone because: (1) I don't really talk to anybody here and (2) I'm stuck in a ship which feels like a hundred miles away from the school.

"Matsudaira! Blow away those sails and ropes. Rima, the tides if you please! And Natsume, find your way into those main engines and blow up the main frame!" Persona was barking out orders as the ship we were riding on came to a sudden halt, signaling an enemy attack from up front.

"What the-?" I look out from the front deck and see we were under siege by a fleet of ships with the words "Zaibatsu Corp." painted on each tanker. As far as I could count, there were eight ships in front of us that were armed with gunmen shooting away almost everywhere. That force field kid must have been put a field around us at the moment, keeping us free from the bullets and making them backfire and hit their own gunmen.

I jump on to the front deck roof and try to look for the spot where those main engines were running. I listen closely for the sound of running motors and figure out where it sounded the loudest. The sound of running motors was loudest right below the left deck of the front ship. I concentrated hard and made that part explode…

"BOOM!"

"Abandon ship!" People in the front ship, were in panic, frantically making their way to the wooden plank the other ships laid out to them as the fleet lost formation due to the other tankers rushing to the aid of the sinking head ship. "Wind Sickle" dealt a fatal blow on the planks, sending dozens of crew ship workers down for a plunge. The strange elementary kid, Kero, was sending down bolts of lightning towards the various ships, individually targeting some frantic gunmen and head captains, while that mind bending kid, Hayori, was also targeting the remaining head captains, making them lose control of the tankers and hit their other companion ships as well.

It was truly a state of chaos, and I couldn't do anything but just step aside and watch. I wanted to help them so much, because all they wanted to do was bring forth to the academy a brighter future for all of its students, and not inflict harm and turbulence. But of course, the Elementary School Principal sees this as a threat to seize power from him, and he swore he will not stop at nothing to bring their corporation down. I can't stand this any longer, all those helpless, pitiful people, how could I just stand here and watch them die?

"Hyuuga! Stop standing around there and make yourself useful!"

I took in a deep breath and adjusted my mask.

_**Mikan's POV**_

Where are you Natsume? It's been three weeks, and you still haven't returned. Everyone finally started to take notice, and people were making theories of where he has gone off to this time.

"_What if the academy sent him home?"_

"_What? No way. I bet he went of for an assassination plot."_

"_You wish. He's probably somewhere, skipping class again."_

"_I think he's just staying at the hospital again, sleeping."_

"_Maybe he's been assassinated…"_

I look over to where Ruka-pyon was sitting; I was surprised to see him sitting beside me, looking really down.

"Ruka-pyon, it's alright. I believe in Natsume, I know he'll come back." I tried to comfort him, but he was still gazing down at his desk, as if he were deep in thought.

"I know, but, there's something inside of me, telling me that Natsume might be in grave danger, somewhere far away, where even we can't reach him."

"It's okay, all we have to do is believe in him, and hope for the best." I said reassuringly as I reached out to pat his hand. He held my hand in return, then he looks up to me and smile. From the corner of my eye, I see Hotaru watching over us, deep in thought, her eyes distant.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Hotaru's Departure**

_**Hotaru's POV**_

__It was a bright and sunny Tuesday, the birds were chirping, students were chattering and laughing outside, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky either. Almost everybody would say it was a perfect day, and yes, you heard me right, ALMOST everybody, because for Imai Hotaru, this would be one of the most dreadful and least anticipated days of her life.

Why would this happen to me? Are they banishing me or something? I don't even know why I'm being sent off to some place in Europe, only to invent inventions for greedy scientists who'd most likely have currency signs for eyes. I'm putting the blame on the principal too. It's his fault he's such a greedy and cruel idiot too.

I look down on the sealed box on my desk; it was an invention I was working on all night. It was worth a large sum of money, and I'm not sure because I can't really know how much people would be willing to pay to get their hands on this machine, but even so, today is the day I would be giving this priceless device to a person very important to me, for free. No extra fees, no interest, no nothing.

"Aminatsu, I'm leaving. Please take charge of arranging my things for my departure later."

"Right away, Hotaru-sama."

I pick up the box on my way out and take in a deep breath, hoping for the best.

"Hotaru!" Mikan says with a smile on her face. She never exclaimed it out to the world like she used to before, but now that Hyuuga's gone, Mikan's energy level kind of dropped to a mere 40%, instead of the usual 200%. But nevertheless, she still never forgets to greet everyone with a smile on her face, and although it may not be the same stupid smile she always wore back then, this smile never failed to brighten up our now dimmer classroom even just by a bit.

"Hey there, baka. How's it going?" I tell her with a milder tone while she puts her arm around me.

"Eh? Hotaru's not going to hit me today?"

"Mikan, I have something for you."

I take out the device from the box, and place it on my desk, arousing a few people's attention because of the machine's colorful exterior and numerous beeping sounds.

"What is it?"

"It's a device that let's you see the person you want to see the most." I explain indifferently while I get a light punch on the arm by Mikan.

"Funny, Hotaru, why do you have to invent such a machine? It's true that I want to see Jii-chan, but I don't really get why you'd have to go through this much trouble to make a machine for me. Now that's just silly!" Mikan chuckles, half-heartedly, because she's not really in a place right now where she can laugh freely from the heart, like she used to before.

"If you don't want it, then I can always take it back. This would be worth millions in El Salvador…"

"No. It's absolutely perfect. I would treasure it with my life. Thank you, Hotaru."

Mikan reaches out and hugs me with an angelic expression her face. It felt so warm that it made me want to cry.

"Good morning class!"

Argh, interrupted and yet somehow saved by Narumi. I was somehow one second away from tearing out, but I gratefully looked down and blinked my eyes to stop the tears the moment Narumi came in through the door.

"Sit down, sit down. Right now I have a very important announcement to make. Your classmate -"

"Imai? Imai Hotaru? The principal is requesting your presence at his office before your departure for Nijmegen today at 10 AM. Is there an Imai Hotaru here?" A teacher comes bustling through the door while reading something from a clipboard.

The whole class turns to look at me with questioning eyes, all but one. Mikan was looking at the teacher with confused eyes filled with fear and shock.

"What do you mean 'departure'?! Is this some kind of joke? Tell me you're lying. Please tell me you're lying!"

"Mikan-chan…" began Narumi, only to be cut off again by Mikan.

"Hotaru, are you leaving?"

I swallow in nervously while Mikan looks at me with those shockingly bright eyes, which were now filled with tears.

"Yes, I'm sorry Mikan. I couldn't tell you, because I knew what would happen if I told you I was leaving you again. And if told you about that, I'd have to use my horse hoof gloves to shoot you all the way to the Northern Woods to stop you from bugging me again…" I explained with a sorry look on my eyes.

"But, Hotaru…" Her tears were welling out and they started falling down her cheeks.

I get up from my seat then go over to where Mikan was sitting, and hug her. I could feel her tears wetting my sleeves, and I'm pretty sure she could feel my own tears wetting her sleeves, too.

"Hotaru, you're crying…"

"I know Mikan. But always remember that you can see me through that clairvoyant screen I gave you, and I'll be coming back in five months, that's not too long…"

"Not for you it is, but for me it will be…" Mikan said through her sobs.

"It won't be, I promise." I said soothingly as I patted her back. From over her shoulder, I could see our classmates staring at us with mixed feelings on their faces.

Iinchou, Nonoko, Anna, and Sumire were looking at us with teary expressions. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Mochu, Koko, and Kitsunume were glancing at us with solemnly shocked expressions. I could bet they were thinking how a cold person like me could even produce tears, and at the same time, grieving for my departure too. And I look Ruka while Mikan was wiping my tears, he had this pained expression on his face, but his eyes held this message saying _"I'll protect and watch over her while you're gone. I promise."_

I give him a small smile, and pat Mikan's head for the last time.

"I'll be back soon, promise."

"Bye Hotaru." And soon enough, the whole class joined in gloomily while I was walking over to the door. I take one last look at the class and see Mikan give me a reassuring smile telling me to be strong. I smile at her back and finally step outside the classroom.

My thoughts have been awfully fast-paced today, but now that I got reassurance from Mikan, and Ruka, too, I knew that things would be all right. I just knew it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Tendencies  
**

_**Mikan's POV**_

_[Three months later…]_

Life would always have its tendencies. So just when you're about to throw stones

at the sky, that right kind of bread, or manna, would fall out of nowhere, right from the heavens up above. And for me, that perfect manna would always be Ruka-pyon.

"Sakura! Wait up!" Ruka-pyon called out to me while we were walking to school today. It was mid-September, and the leaves were beginning to change color and were one by one falling to the ground where the crunched noisily under our hurrying feet.

"We're going to be late, Ruka-pyon! This is all your fault!"

"…How is it my fault? You were the one who convinced me to stay up late to watch the stars last night, and as far I knew, Tokyo never even had stars!"

"Well…It's your fault you caved anyway." I pointed out to Ruka-pyon with a smirk on my face as I twirled around and rolled my eyes at him.

It's been three months ever since Natsume and Hotaru left, and life in the academy couldn't get any quieter and calmer than this. Maybe it was because when Natsume left, half of the Kikenouryoku-kei went away too, taking along the academy's most troublesome Alices with them. And when Hotaru left for the Netherlands, nobody went around making a fuss by selling secretly taken pictures of Ruka-pyon, Misaki-sensei, and Natsume anymore. Sure there are some little disturbances here and there, but then, without them, life in this academy would never be the same, but then, now with my quieter life, I grew closer to a lot more people in the class, not to mention my already close friends, but of course, the one who's always been closest to me all this time, was none other than the great and irreplaceable Ruka-pyon.

Ruka-pyon and I were more than friends, that's for sure, but of course, we're not exactly lovers either. I don't even want to get started on that matter again. He would never, ever replace Hotaru in my heart, because she's my best friend and like the sister I never had, but either way, Ruka-pyon would still not be replaced. To me, he was like a brother, best friend, partner-in-crime, shoulder-to-cry on, guardian angel, personal bodyguard, personal nutritionist and doctor, personal pashiri (yeah, you heard me), personal tutor (Iinchou filled in for him sometimes), and personal punching bag (for when I'd get mad at Hotaru all over again for not taking me with her). I could pretty much say he was my 'personal' everything, for he would always be there whenever I needed him the most, and of course I too was there for him when he was in need of a friend too.

When it rained during our afternoon walks during some days, right after classes, he would always take out his trusty umbrella from his fully stocked knapsack and share it with me. On the way back, we tease and jostle each other, so I'm guessing there's nothing romantic about that anyway right?

Whenever one of us was sick, the other one would always makes soup and bring over some comics so that the sick one would get better and won't get bored while recovering. Ruka-pyon was honestly better at making the soup, since I won't gag on it whenever I try some of his, but still, I would always be better at lulling the other one to sleep, especially since Ruka-pyon sounds like a tone-deaf walrus whenever he attempts to do something close to singing. But either way, we both make each other feel better during those times we feel down and lifeless.

Some people might call us a couple, well, a couple of idiots anyway. We were companion buddies who are now to the rescue by each other's side by filling in the missing gap that our best friends left behind. And that's how we lived our lives these past couple of months.

_**Natsume's POV**_

Life would always have its tendencies. When everything seems perfectly fine, the heavens just won't allow all of it to flow through smoothly, even just by a bit. It would always give a dose of injustice in the time you least expected it, as if it was a force of habit.

Truth be told, life on this crew, or rather, cruise ship, couldn't get any more luxurious. Persona reckons it was the best the school had to offer for its little darlings who always take time to do some "errands" for the academy. Whatever. I rolled my eyes at the faint memory, returning to my usual cat nap that I did every afternoon.

"Hyuuga-kun?"

"Huh?"

I open an eye and see a girl with her head cocked to the side, standing next to where I was lying.

"What do you want?" I asked her tonelessly.

"Well, somebody from Main Office sent me here to deliver you a package. Here." She said while she handed me a brown paper bag. I was relieved to see that my internal meds were here already.

"So, what's inside?"

"Is it any of your business?"

"I guess not." She muttered while looking down, avoiding my eyes.

"Name's Kyoko Ayame, by the way!" She looked up at me again a second later, holding out her hand. I sat up and looked at it, moments later, she let it fall back down again.

I looked at her felt my heart skip a beat. As I scanned her face, I was taken aback by the odd familiarity and the bitter irony I saw in it. Soft blue cornflower eyes were set on her heart-shaped face while wavy dark brown hair fell to her shoulders, delicately framing her ivory face. And as I felt myself gasp internally even more, that same stupid smile I loved so much was there, plastered on her face.

"So, whatcha in for?" I asked her as she sat down on the bench beside me.

"Well, I'm actually new to this, even though I'm actually in my third year of Junior High. I was just recently discovered for possessing an Alice that could make things turn to stone, which was why I was recently named Medusa throughout the whole middle school section. It gets tiring, but I'm used to it now." She sighed as I grew even more shocked than before. How could such a delicate-looking person even posses an Alice even close to that? And since it was an Alice I encountered from the Z intrusion three years ago, I couldn't help but stare at her back, wondering if she had any relations with that guy from last time.

"Anyway, I heard that the ever-so elusive Black Cat was on board, are you by chance him?" She grinned at me again, taking me aback again.

"Fu." I rolled my eyes. She mouthed a tiny 'oh', which meant she got my answer.

"Well then, I hope we could become good friends. You see, I don't really have much friends on board, being the infamous Medusa and all, so, meeting you today, really made my day." She gave me a tiny smile while she got up and patted my shoulder.

'You made my day, too.' I thought as I watched her walk away.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

_**Natsume's POV**_

Days have ended, weeks are over, and before I knew it, seven months have gone by, just like that. And all this time, my one and only refuge has become Kyoko, since she was the only one on this ship who understood what I was going through, because she was going through the same things too. I knew it wasn't right to seek warmth from the wrong places, but then, Kyoko and I would be there for each other, no matter what, because she once mentioned, that she found warmth and comfort in me too, and when she looks at me, she feels like she's once again found home. Of course, knowing me, she'd never expect me to respond to those kinds of mushy stuff, because she knows that I show my response through my actions, not through my words.

"So here's the story, Machi always makes fun of me for eating like a pig, don't you think that's a little too harsh, ne Natsume-kun?"

"I dunno, but maybe that's how you came to like Sano, because no matter how much you two may be so different, you're still both pigs." I rolled my eye at her.

"Hmm, well, opposites attract, I guess." She shrugged and giggled at the thought.

I smile at her a bit while remembering the faint memory of Mikan pigging out during the Alice Festival last year. That memory was so distant that it hurt, but of course, the memory of her sunny smile still remains vivid in my mind, thanks to Kyoko, who keeps reminding me that you can never get by a day without a smile on your face.

"You really do miss them, huh?" I asked her, glancing at her direction.

"Yes, very much. The things I miss the most are Machi's cooking and Sano's insults, but I just shake it off whenever I get sad just thinking about it. But at least my memories of them could always give me strength during those sieges." She said while gazing off into the sunset. I nodded in reply.

The Zaibatsu Corp. never gives up. But I still couldn't help but feel sorry for them. I mean, they were only trying to give us students a better life, and it wasn't like they wanted to hurt anybody thought. However, as their men got fewer due to their various defeats, their sieges grew fewer too, since not much were left brave enough to stand up to the academy's "soldiers". Every time I think about it, I grow more hopeful that someday they'll take me with them and whisk me away to a better life than the one I'm living right now.

"Don't you just wish those bastards from Zaibatsu would come here and bring us out of this mess?" I sighed.

"Yup. I wanna go see Otou-san, Okaa-san, Ojii-chan, Obaa-chan, Onii-chan and everyone else back home." She joined my interlude of sighs, because she too, was longing for the comfort of home, ever since she was taken the academy when she was only six.

"Kyoko-san…" She was surprised when I suddenly called her by her last name.

"Do you think it's a good idea to escape from here and stow away into one of those ships from Zaibatsu Corp.?" I asked her, a plan concocting in my mind.

"Well, considering the major consequences we'd have to suffer doing something as reckless as that, it would be a better idea if we had this ship down, so that we won't get pursued by anybody else from the academy." She explained indifferently, as if making a ship sink wasn't something very big for her.

"Tch, smart-ass." I patted her shoulder as I walked off to the buffet table.

"Hyuuga! What was that all about? And for the last time, I told you calling me 'senpai' won't be so bad right?! Hey!" She hollered at me while she followed me to the buffet table. I guess walking off snapped her out of the trance I put her through when I mentioned something about escaping.

"Hey, answer me whe- Oooh, steak!"

"Pig."

"Hey!"

"I meant roast pig, idiot." I smacked the back of her head. Meanwhile, she let out a soft 'ow'.

Later that night…was one of the worst nights of my life. Kyoko came over to my room to check on me, being the _Senpai_ that she was. She reminded me to take my meds on time and assured me that there won't be any sieges tonight. I felt comforted by this since my condition has worsened during these past couple of months due to overuse of my Alice, and so far, this has been the time when I used it the most. I see it as _abused_ it the most though.

"Are you sure you're alright? How 'bout your meds, are you taking 'em?"

"You don't need to worry that much about me, I can take care of myself. I'm used to this already, so just go to bed."

"It's seven-thirty."

"Just go." I sent her away, closing the door at her before she could even open her mouth to speak. I waited for the sound of her footsteps to disappear, and as soon as they did, I slid down and started coughing like mad.

"Ugh, blood." I narrowed my eyes at the red stuff that was all over my hands.

_**Ruka's POV**_

"Oh, wipe that smug grin off your face, Pyo-, I mean, _Ruka_."

"Sorry, sorry." I laughed while Sakura was undoing her hair ribbons.

We were in my dorm that night, and I just won a bet we made that day. Whoever could eat the most sausage rolls wins. I won. She just passed out for five minutes.

"All done, hmph. I told you, I don't like my wearing it down, it makes me feel all…" She trailed off, remembering she was supposed to be mad at me.

"It's alright, Sakura, it suits you." I smiled at her as I took a lock of her hair, admiring the lovely chestnut brown color it held. She looked more charming than before, and I was taken aback for awhile because of how her flowing hair greatly complimented her frame.

"…Antsy… I already told you…" She flushed a bit at my comment.

"Hmm, it's late, you should get going now." I said while getting up and grabbing her by the arm. She looked at her watch and stared back at me with a confused expression. I pushed her out the door and thrust her hair ribbons at her.

"Remember, you can't go against the bet we made. You have to keep your hair down for two weeks. No cheating. And no more calling me weird names. Good night." I said rather quickly, closing the door at her face, with her hair ribbons at hand.

I lean against the door and exhale loudly. It was only eight-thirty, smooth move Ruka. How could I fall for her again? Everyone knew she had a thing with Natsume already, how could I do that to him? I slid to the floor, I feel so low right now…

_**Mikan's POV**_

__I feel so low right now. I wonder if I did anything wrong to make Ruka-pyon push me out like that… Why does he have me thinking anyway? And why do I still remember the thing Natsume told me, way back?

_"…Hey… Ugly girl."_

"_I'm not answering to you."_

"_Do you still plan to have that kind of hairstyle in five years' time?"_

"…_What?"_

"_That hairstyle won't be suitable in five years' time. Put your hair down."_

"_You… What are you... suddenly saying that kinda thing."_

"_Put it down. It looks better that way."_

The way that slightly distant memory still clearly rang in my head made me shed a tear. I only noticed this when I felt something warm trickle down my cheek. I then instinctively wiped it off with the back of my hand.

Why do I miss him so much anyway? He's so cocky for leaving me and Ruka-pyon behind, really. I felt one more tear roll down my cheek.

I miss Hotaru too, whenever I would remember her promise that was never kept. It's been eight months already, and now where is she? There goes another tear, darn. I can't cry here, in the hallway, like right now.

I run to my room and shut the door behind me. I open my bedroom drawer and retrieve a box that was buried underneath a pile of clothes. I placed the box on my bed and started getting ready for bed. When I was finished, I quickly plopped on my bed and took out the thing inside the box.

My eyes marveled at the sight of bright lights coming from the strange contraption Hotaru left with me seven months back. The beeping was a bit loud and the lights lit up my dark room, making it seem dim. I pressed a button, letting the machine take a quick scan of my eye. It always fascinated me whenever it did that, because I never knew the mystery behind the whole eye-scanning thing and how it always found out the person we wanted to see the most.

Through the machine, I was able to see Jii-chan, Hotaru, Okaa-san (She's not allowed to see me anymore), and Natsume. However, whenever Ruka-pyon and I try to find out where Natsume is, it's as if a blanket of clouds was put over the screen, making it extremely difficult to see what that guy was up to. Nonetheless, we never failed to see how he was doing every other day or so, and even though we never knew what was really going on, we never gave up hope for that one day that blanket might just be lifted.

Hotaru's case is a real mystery. I check on her everyday, and yet all she does is stay at the lab, present in front of a group of foreign investors or sleep in her stadium-sized bedroom. If she's not doing any of this stuff, she might as well be in her own pantry, eating crabs and Gouda.

My thoughts trailed off when I saw what was happening amidst the random beeping noises and blinking lights, because there, on the screen, was another side of Hotaru I have never seen before. I could've sworn I was seeing somebody different, but I guess I wasn't mistaken.

My eyes were marveling at the sight of a raven-haired girl, sitting by the window with tears rolling down her face. She was staring through the rain that was enveloped with layers of fog and cloud. In her hands, she held a letter that looked like the one I sent to her three months ago.

"_Misser Imai, zullen wij in een uur vóór de vergadering weggaan [Miss Imai, we shall be leaving in an hour before the meeting]_." A foreign voice suddenly spoke from across the room. Hotaru hastily wiped her tears as I felt new ones form in my eyes. She nodded her head and smiled. For a short moment, I just watched her there, looking out the window. And while this young girl started with her silent tears again, she never knew that somewhere, on the other side of the world, I, her best friend, was silently crying with her too. This continued for awhile, until the waves of drowsiness took me over and enveloped me into a deep sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Things That Went Bump in the Night**

_**Ruka's POV**_

_"You don't have to worry about me 'cough', I'm fine. 'cough'"_

_"Ne, Natsume."_

_"Just go."_

_'Cough, cough'_

_"Ugh, blood." _

I suddenly woke up in cold sweat. It was just a dream, rather, a nightmare. I slightly cringed at the thought of Natsume writhing and giving in to the pain. I hoped that this wasn't happening. But what if…

I quickly got up from bed and blindly made my way to the door. I ran through the hallways as fast and as quiet as I can without forgetting to shut my bedroom door behind me. I frantically wound my way down the stairs to the girls' dorms hallway and searched for Sakura's name plate. The sudden sound of muffled beeping made me stop in my tracks and look at the door I was standing next to.

"_Sakura Mikan"_

I knocked twice at her door hoping she would still be awake at this hour.

_**Mikan's POV **_

___'Toc', 'Toc', 'Toc'. _The sudden rapping at the door suddenly awoke me from my sleep.

I shut my eyes tighter, afraid of what might be in front of my door and the things that go bump in the night.

_"Sakura, open up, it's me." _I heard a faint whisper from outside my room. I recognized the voice as Ruka-pyon's, and from the sound of his tone, I didn't think it was anything good.

I got up and practically ran slash tripped to the door (there was stuff all over the floor).

After tripping for the third time, it was already by the door, so I held on to the door knob to pull myself up. I opened the door to see a sweating Ruka-pyon with a bothered look on his face.

"It's about Natsume."

_**Kyoko's POV**_

I looked up at the clock for the eleventh time tonight and found that it has only been three minutes since I've last checked. My thoughts were occupied, about many things of course, and most vaguely, about the thing Natsume told me awhile ago…

_"Do you think it's a good idea to escape from here and stow away into one of those ships from Zaibatsu Corp.?" _It just kept playing and playing all over again in my head.

As his senpai, I really felt that I should do something to make him happy. I knew that he wasn't exactly giddy at this point in his life, and yet, I just wasn't able to do anything about it but simply watch him fight for his freedom and happiness. I've never even felt so responsible for someone before, and it was just as if I was born to be Natsume Hyuuga's own guardian, since there was nobody around to watch over him and protect him at all times either.

I got it! We should stow away at the next ship that comes our way. I sat up, in excitement. Then quickly plopped down again when I remembered that we only had sieges once every two to three weeks nowadays. I sighed.

I just have to help him…

_'SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!'_

The ship came to an abrupt halt that rocked the whole liner, leaving me rolling to the floor below.

The sudden wailing of the sirens were enough to shatter my eardrums, so this could only mean one thing. I got out of my room and joined the stampede of students rushing to their battle stations. We had no choice anyway.

Choice. Shoot. I almost forgot about Natsume! Poor little fellow couldn't even stand up on his own.

Wait a sec… Why the hell am I leaving out the most important factor anyway? My stowaway plan was just sudden, and even though it was only concocted a few seconds ago, I guessed the heavens picked this moment for it to be put into immediate action with the utmost care. (Even though it was imperfect and stupid, too)

I quickly spun around and headed to the opposite direction where everyone else was running off to. Man, I felt like crying, and maybe it's because I have at least a dozen reasons why.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: A Stone Wall**

_**Mikan's POV**_

__My eyes felt like saucers when I saw what was happening back at the screen. Ruka-pyon mouthed a tiny 'oh no' as we both trembled in fear. The hazy sheet has finally been lifted, and now we can see what was happening very clearly.

_The students were running in complete chaos, everyone in their PJ's and nightgowns rushed to a deck of a large ship. Persona was shrieking out orders like a madman, while a tiny man in glasses from the other ship was nervously speaking out into a megaphone…_

_"We don't mean you any harm; we just want to know who would like to go home…"_

_"Don't listen to him! He's trying to trick you!" And with those words, the small man began to shake uncontrollably._

_"P-please, we're just trying to h-help. I-If y-you would j-just so a-as t-to be kind e-enough to j-join u-us here i-in the shi-ship so that w-we could t-take you students H-H-HOME." The kind-faced stranger said as he gave out tiny almost invisible sobs._

_The stranger's statement suddenly caught the attention of a quarter of the students on deck. Some were aroused. Then from out of nowhere, a voice came from across the scene._

_"HEY! If you want to get out of this hellhole, then come with me!" The screen suddenly shifted its view to the same girl from earlier, who happened to carry Natsume out of his room during the time the sirens were screeching throughout the cabins._

_"Make WAAAY!" The dark-haired girl of fifteen, (it seemed so) jumped on a table, climbed up on the roof of the cabin and grabbed a rope she swung on the very front of the deck. This entire act she did while still carrying an unconscious Natsume over her shoulder and wearing light cotton PJ's and a thin night top at the same time._

"What's up with this girl anyway?" A shocked and awed Ruka-pyon said beside me. It was kinda like watching a circus act, only better.

_**Kyoko's POV**_

My daring and not to mention, stupid act, happened to catch the attention of all the students and teachers on board. Some were making their way to me, others were just laughing, heck, some were even snapping some pictures. (Maybe it was because I was only wearing thin clothes...)

Gaah! Nooo!

Ok not the time to be thinking about those matters now. I sniffed at the thought. For now, it's about time I execute my plan.

I climbed on the railings of the ship and jumped to the other liner. My jump lasted for about five seconds, and because heaven was oh so kind to me tonight, I safely made it.

The passengers on board the Zaibatsu Corp. were just as shocked as I am as they witnessed my death-defying acts tonight and finally made it alive here, unscathed, on their ship. (Which was about 3 meters apart from the academy's cruise liner, mind you)

"AYAME! Get your lousy self back here!" A teacher from the other boat yelled.

"You can't make me!" I stuck out my tongue at them. Ok, maybe sticking out my tongue wasn't such a good idea, but it was the only way I could make the students gain trust in these kind people from the Zaibatsu Corp.

"YEAH! You can't make her! Now, anyone else interested in joining this fine young lady?" The tiny man suddenly stood in front of me and once again spoke into the megaphone, more confidently.

Persona cast him a menacing glare, and so did the other teachers, along with a few students. He quickly retreated and cowered behind me.

I gave Natsume to a nearby uniformed man who quickly laid him down on one of the benches in the deck. There was going to be a fight, and I knew it. I braced myself for whatever was coming my way. I was about to concentrate on being Medusa for awhile when suddenly a high-pitched voice called out my name.

"Ayame-san, I want to help." It was Ibaragi-san, and she had just desperately succeeded in making her way to the very front of the deck.

"O-ok then." I said. Then suddenly, a bridge of ice was formed in the gap of the two gigantic liners.

"If anyone else is interested in joining us, please feel free to do so. I CAN and WILL protect you." I grabbed the megaphone from the man and spoke into it so that everyone could hear. The terrified students' eyes lit up when they heard the words 'Can and will protect you'.

There was a short pause, followed by an awkward yet thoughtful silence. Some of the students murmured to each other and I looked at each one of them rather nervously and expectantly.

A middle-school freshman suddenly came stumbling through the crowd of people and anxiously looked back. Then she climbed on the ice bridge and walked to our side. I recognized her as the barrier kid, able to fend of attacks from both Alice and non-Alice offences.

A short silence, followed by a series of unexpected movements. Some nodded amongst themselves, and almost too suddenly, chaos started to erupt from all corners of the academy liner.

"We're not prepared to hurt you; we just want to save you. If you're not interested in that, we have no choice but to retreat and come back some other time. We may not be able to come back anymore after this time, so this might as well be your last chance." A tall, muscular man suddenly came up from behind me and took the megaphone away from me.

And with that, almost half of the students from the liner frantically made their way on board to our side. Nobara made her ice bridge wider and thicker to accommodate the growing number of students that were rushing over to our side. Some were even flying, teleporting, jumping and doing all sorts of superhero movements just to get on board this ship.

Meanwhile, on the other liner, the students left behind were starting to attack.

I closed my eyes and shielded myself from the cascading offences of wind, thunderbolts, wasps, and the such.

Then, nothing.

I was surprised to see that Mizuki, the barrier kid, was no longer beside me, and has undergone transformation mode and was floating over the ship, creating an invisible barrier around the entire liner. The whites of her eyes were only visible, and her skin was holding a faint glow of blue. Her short, light-brown hair was thrashing wildly, due to the strong blows of the Pacific Ocean on this cold January night.

As the flow of hurrying students decreased, we made them hurry up so that we could make a safe escape. Most of the ones left behind in the academy ship were the older, stealthier, and more experienced students, and they were trying to find ways on how to penetrate the invincible barrier surrounding us. Akito, the explosives guy, attempted to make the main engine of this ship blow up, but then, Kisa, the 'puppet-string' girl, shook her arm at him and threw him almost overboard, but not quite, without even touching him, from a ten feet distance too!

Soon enough, the students from our side began fighting back against the continuous attacks that were being hurled at us. I was amazed at how these students (most of them younger than me), were so incredibly mind-blowing. I felt my jaw drop as I watched a group of elementary kids form a wall of water, melting away Nobara's ice bridge and coming in between the two clashing liners, ours and theirs.

This was my cue. I stared at the wall of water and watched it slowly turn into stone under my will. All the students looked shocked as they stared at the water turning into solid rock. I smiled. Then, for one last blow, I instinctively concentrated on my target while closing my eyes and converted 3,000 pounds of engine steel into a concrete block. It's up to them how they were going to make their way out of this sticky situation.

The ship turned around to make its way to dry land, finally. Cheers erupted from all of the students on board because tonight was a night of hard-earned freedom. I spun around to face the sea of ecstatic faces after giving my last salute to the sinking liner behind the stone wall. I blushed as the crowd cheered and applauded for me. As far as I'm concerned, I have just become the new poster girl for an academy revolution in this generation. I smiled and took my bow.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Coming Around**

_**Ruka's POV**_

__"I can't believe it."

"Me neither…" Her speech was slurred, which must have meant that she was taken over by sleepiness once again.

We were watching the clairvoyant screen for about three hours now, and by the looks of it, we weren't very sure if we were going to see Natsume ever again.

"Sa-"I stopped talking when I felt her head suddenly rest on my shoulder. She had this peaceful yet pained expression on her face that it seemed unreadable to a person who didn't know her well. I stroked her head and wiped a stray tear that was rolling down her cheek.

It was strange that her tears made me remember people whenever I saw them, and at that moment, Imai suddenly came to my mind.

I pressed a button and the machine quickly scanned my eye for the second time tonight…

_"Met al gepaste eerbiedheer, wens ik naar huis te gaan. [With all due respect sir, I wish to go home.]" A statuesque raven-haired girl spoke clearly at the scene. She was currently standing in front of a table of men in lab coats and business suits. She seemed familiar, but at the same time, a total stranger to me too._

_"Zeker een andere reeks van prototypen en een jaar won' gekwetst t, nr? [Surely another set of prototypes and year won't hurt, no?]" One of the men seated on the table asked the girl. After saying that, the other men nodded and spoke in different languages among themselves. Meanwhile, the girl was, as I could see, shaking. _

_It was then that I realized that the tall and pretty girl was actually Imai. That figures. I examined her face closely and saw her purple orbs getting misty. She wore a cold expression and was trying to hold back whatever anger was suppressed inside of her. _

_"Greedy jerks…" I heard her incoherently mumble._

_Then she closed her eyes and nodded. "Ik begrijp [I understand]." And with that, she turned back and walked away._

I had to give it to her; she was impressively fluent in whatever language she was speaking back there, even if I honestly did not understand a single word they said.

It didn't look like good news, not especially for Mikan either. And judging by the look on Imai's face, those 'greedy jerks' might have said something that pissed her off.

I turned the machine off and placed it back in the box. Then I looked at Sakura again. She was really in need of a shoulder-to-lean-on right now, especially because of the things that were taking place right now. Natsume's been stowed away in a foreign ship together with some Alice refugees led by a spunky yet strange dark-haired girl while Imai's in a far-off land resisting the urge to hit those greedy foreign men.

What to do, what to do? Sakura's really going to need me this time. I sighed and dozed off a few minutes later, while lying down beside Sakura with her head still on my shoulder.

_**Natsume's POV**_

Ugh. What the hell happened last night?

I had this really strange dream last night…

I feel like I'm having a hangover.

My aching head…

I woke up to the sound of excited laughter and chit-chat from above me. Then my thoughts finally re-arranged themselves after I came to.

"What the - ?" I quickly scanned my surroundings. It appeared that I was on a bed in a small cabin. Oh, and my voice suddenly woke someone up.

"Hey! You're finally up!" Kyoko stood up from her chair beside the door. She came over to hug me, well, almost hug me.

"Hands off. Where the hell did you take me?!" I hollered at her while pushing her away from me.

"Why, to the good guys of course!" She happily chirped, while attempting, once again, to hug me.

"I said hands off. What the hell did you do this time?!" I said while kicking her lightly on the stomach to get her off me.

"Oof. Is this the kind of thanks I get after practically saving your life from those guys last night?" She pouted at me while dusting off herself after falling to the floor.

"What did you do?" I glared at her.

"Uhm, carried you over to this ship, encouraged a revolt, started a forty minute war, and became Poster Girl for Public Enemy-student Number 1." She mumbled while looking down at the floor.

"WHAT?!"

"Err... The bad guys are stuck in a sinking liner in the middle of the Pacific Ocean because of me. That's good right?" She grinned at me.

A short moment of silence.

I stood up and smacked the back of her head. "Good job, idiot."

"Tha- Hey! What was that for?!"

"For saving my life." I looked back on the way to the door of the unfamiliar cabin and smirked at her. I opened the door and strode casually in the hallway.

Seconds later on the deck, I saw some students from the academy ship that were pointing and staring at me. The other kids didn't seem to notice and continued to laugh and run along the deck. They were all in their pajamas too.

I recognized the liner right away as a Zaibatsu Corporation ship because of the company name painted on a wall. I continued studying the ship environment, which seemed to be a lively and happy one, when suddenly a sandy-haired boy bumped into me out of nowhere and looked in surprise when he saw who he collided with.

"Oh! Hyuuga-sama! Err, why don't you go down to Main Office o-over there. Uhm, just turn left. 'K bye!" The uneasy boy bowed then ran back again to his friends again. I looked at them for awhile and took note on how happy they were. It reminded me so much of the people back home. And their laughter…

Laughter wasn't a restrained thing anymore, because now, these kids could be able to laugh freely from their hearts. So that must mean I can to.

I made my way to the Main Office, as the anxious-looking boy directed me to. Some stared, but I didn't mind. I wasn't in the mood to shoot any menacing glares right now. Still, I shouldn't be in such a foul mood since this was a day of rejoicing, whatever crap Kyoko was able to pull off last night.

I reached Main Office and a motherly receptionist greeted as soon as I came in.

"Ah. You must be Hyuuga-kun. Glad to finally have you. So, if you could oh-so kindly fill out this form, then we could be able to release you in about two to three days, depending on the distance of your home." She smiled a sweet smile at me, which got me thinking again. I usually don't listen to people who tell me to do stuff, so I played her words in my head again and was taken aback. I internally gasped.

"What?!" I choked.

"Please fill out the necessary release forms, Hyuuga-kun. Then, as soon as you're finished, you're on your way home!" She beamed at me once again while she handed me some papers and a pen.


	11. Chapter 11

_Twenty five, all of these mixed emotions,_

_Tangled up in pure confessions, _

_It's hard to let go of the past,_

_But it seems easier as time is moving on.  
_

**

* * *

Chapter 11: Homebound**

_**Kyoko's POV**_

"Are you effin' serious?" I asked for the twenty-third time. His lip twitched and I could pretty much guess he was on the brink of strangling me to death if I asked him one more time.

"YES I have not visited Amami Oshima and NO I am not a morning person." He said for the twenty-third time.

"Sheesh, OK. You don't have to be so…" My words faded as he gave me the ever-so infamous 'Glare of Death'.

"Anyway", I blabbered on, "We have this very, very nice beach and it's not too cold during the winter. Then during summer, it's very humid but it's fine since the beach is always open, the waters are welcoming, and there's a fireworks display almost every night until the last week of August!" I piped up. Natsume didn't seem to be interested. Sure he was happy about coming home, but then, something in his eyes told me that there were regrets and doubts when I mentioned to him about his hometown.

"Is there anything wrong, Natsume? Aren't you happy you're going to reach home in about three hours?" I asked him. He, however, was looking down at the waves splish-sploshing against the ship, avoiding eye contact, as usual.

I sighed. This might just be my last chance I get to be with him because I might not be able to see him ever again since Zaibatsu Corp. clearly stated that it was our choice if we wished to remain at the academy. Of course, the majority weren't anywhere near interested in going back to Tokyo to face the looming horror of the ESP.

Zaibatsu Corp. confirmed that they were planning to take over the Elementary Division, and that their biggest problem was, of course, none other than the ESP. The Principal, however, won't be as scary since we've got a shipful of all his cronies stuck in a sinking liner the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Not much of a big threat anymore, considering the helpful tactics some students were able to share in order to control and defeat the seed of the 'Principal Evil' (As we would like to call it), once and for all.

Not so scary now are we, Mr. Principal?

I looked at Natsume again and wondered if all his problems were gone by now. But it seemed that a few were still coming back to bother him again.

He sighed and said, "I don't, I don't want to leave the people most important to me behind, back at the academy. I want to be there to protect them and make sure nothing bad happens to him. But now, here I am, waiting to go home while the rest of them just desperately risk their own chances of happiness by staying in Gakuen Alice."

I felt my heart sting at his words while a short yet eerie silence fell over us.

"I'm a failure as a friend and a man."

"Don't say that, you're only thirteen-"

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen, right. You're only fourteen you know. You don't have to carry the world on you're shoulders yet like this."

"I don't have to carry it YET, right."

I sighed and rolled my eyes at him again. Then I gave him a pat at the shoulder and said warmly, "Everything's gonna be alright."

He stared at my hand and took it off from his shoulder.

"I guess you don't really know my childhood story huh?"

"What childhood story?"

"THE childhood story."

"Oh. Please do tell."

"I don't feel up to it."

"Just go", I punched his shoulder. He slightly winced in pain and said fine while rubbing the bruised area.

"For a girl you're pretty strong…and muscular. So not fitting."

"I know right… Hey! That wasn't nice."

"And neither am I. So do you wanna listen to my story or not?"

"Oh no! Please, please tell me stowee!" I batted my eyelashes at him. He rolled his eyes and began his story that dated way back when he was eight.

_[55 minutes of storytelling later…]_

"So lemme get the straight. Persona secretly left an Alice Magnifying or whatever-you-call-it stone that was supposedly meant for you but then Aoi, your little sister, got hold of it since it reminded her of the color red, the color of your eyes

. Then, Aoi's Alice went all berserk and set your whole town in fire because of an outburst of power from her."

I drew in a quick breath and resumed again, "Then you got blamed for starting the fire and you took it, which by the way was very stupid indeed", he smacked my head, "Ow, and so the academy whisked you away and Aoi got locked up in a cellar in the Hana Hime Den for about two years, and then, you found her when you were battling it out with the dudes from Kikkenyouroku-kei. And then after you defeated them, the whole school found out about your sister who was a non-Alice staying in the Hana Hime Den and was sent home. You however, didn't come with her since you felt the need to stay behind and protect your friends."

He nodded. "That's pretty much the whole story."

"Well, that was fascinating, not to mention very time-consuming. Look how much minutes we killed!" I exclaimed while looking at my watch.

The ship suddenly came to an abrupt halt, which meant this was Natsume's stop. I looked at him and gave me an unfathomable expression on his face. I was going to miss this guy so much… I felt my eyes go misty right there and then.

"OOOOOH! I'm gonna miss you so much Hyuuga!!!!" I cried as I hugged him real tight. Surprisingly, he didn't dodge it, but somehow found a way to make the mushy-gushy situation appear less mushy-gushy.

"Give me a bear hug and your hair will suffer the consequences."

"Oh, sorry." I loosened my hug by a bit.

"I'll really miss you, be a good boy ok?"

"Yes ma'am. And, I'll miss you too…" He broke free from hug and patted my shoulder.

"Senpai." He added with a smirk as he began walking away. I gasped and ran to him, and then I ruffled his hair much to his annoyance.

"You may be older than me, but that won't change the fact that you'll be bald the second time you do that again."

"Ok." I released him. He started to walk away and I followed him. I watched him descend from the ship and when he was finally on dry land, I called out to him.

"Oi! Take me out for some ramen some time, ok? We're just 1,379 meters apart anyway!"

"Fine." He shouted back.

"But I won't be paying", he quickly retorted.

"Aww, come on!" The ship suddenly gave its final blow, meaning it was time to go.

"Bye." He saluted me and gave me a tiny yet very genuine smile. I saluted him back and waved at him as the ship moved away for its next stop-my hometown. I gave a sigh of relief and sat back down on one of the benches.

* * *

_So let go all of these mixed emotions, forget all your hesitations,_

_Together entwined in these feelings, _

_Feet off the ground, head hits ceiling_

_Tailor Made by Taylor Swift  
_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Weary Old Kids in Technicolor**

_**Aoi's POV**_

__Sigh. What a boring day. It's been over an hour since Yumi left, and now I have no one to play with. She told me we were gonna have fun today, and this ain't fun at all. I sighed again, and looked at the sky. I wonder when Nii-chan would finally visit…

Just then, some dogs started to bark. A little boy came running to the Town Plaza, coming back with a group of other kids thirty seconds later. Seems like there's a new stranger visiting this small town, which wasn't a very common thing here since this was, after all, the countryside. Nobody ever visits here anyway. I should go check it out.

"Otou-chaaaan!"

"Yeph Aoi?" Otou-chan said to me with a paintbrush in between his lips. He was poking his head from inside, where he was working on his newest painting, _Bored Old Kid in Technicolor._

"I'm gonna check out who just arrived by the main street, ok? I'll be back in five minutes! Bye!"

"Take care!" He called out to me as I got my sweater and was putting it on while running to the southern side of town, the one leading to the main street where delivery trucks usually, and visitors rarely, pass through.

"Oh, and come back soon! I won't be able to get to work if you're not here." He hurriedly added.

"'Kay!" My feet felt like wind as they carried me on through the pathway amidst the trees. It was as if they knew that I really needed to see this stranger right away.

I started running faster as the number of people flocking to see the new comer got bigger. I couldn't see the stranger since some kids my age were blocking him. I pushed myself through, even though some of the kids got mad at me and tugged at my hair. I didn't care though, because right now, my curiosity got the best out of me.

"Aoi!" I felt the pull of the same crimson eyes I loved oh-so much as two pairs of red orbs met each other. I gasped.

"Onii-chan… Onii-chan!!!" My eyes suddenly watered up. What was he doing here? I ran out to hug him and he gratefully took me in his arms.

"These arms, feel like home." He whispered into my hair.

"You are home, Nii-chan." I smiled at him.

_**Mikan's POV**_

"How do you think Hotaru's doing Ruka?" We were lying down under a tree where we were playing with the flowers we picked that afternoon.

"I'm sure she's…alright." He struggled to say the last word. I lifted myself on one elbow and raised my eyebrow at him.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind."

"Hmmkayy…" I let it pass. Hotaru was probably somewhere, inventing something for millions of dollars. Such a gold digger, she is.

"Hey Ruka."

"Yeah?"

"You think my hair looks nice?"

"Erm… Yeah." He blushed. I wonder why.

"You really think so? 'Cause I've been thinking of keeping it this way forever." I beamed at him.

"That's great, Sakura." He smiled back. He flushed again and I grinned an evil grin. Then I took him by surprise as I took his shoulders and swept my long hair all over his face while he was lying down.

"Pfft! Sakura, you're so dead!" He appeared to grow redder and redder by the second.

"Ok, ok! I'll stop. But honestly, Ruka, I don't think you'll even dare harm a fly."

"Huh?"

"Prove to me that you can hurt me."

"Eh? No…"

"Just try." I rolled my eyes. He sighed. Then he grabbed my shoulders and shook them. I just looked at him, what the hell was that for? I blinked and burst out laughing.

"Well, I tried my best." He smiled apologetically. Ruka-pyon would always be a gentleman, forever. I smiled at him then suddenly rested my head on his shoulder, much to his surprise.

**Ruka's POV**

I could swear I blushed ten different shades of red and pink today, each. And this time, an array of colors started appearing.

Pink, rose, red, scarlet, firebrick.

"Your face looks like a brick, Ruka." Mikan commented while touching my nose.

"Feels like a brick too." She murmured as she poked my cheek.

Then, without thinking, my teenage boy hormones took over. I leaned over to kiss her forehead. Yeah, just the forehead. Mikan froze.

This time, it was her who turned five shades of red. Such a pretty color. Then, she blinked, blinked again, and leaned over to kiss my cheek. They felt soft and warm, just like how I expected them to be.

Pink, rose, red, scarlet, firebrick.

She rested her head on my shoulder again. We both looked like bricks.

A group of students passed by.

"Oooh, Sakura-san and Ruka-sama are having a lovey-dovey moment." Random girl number 1 crooned.

"I'm so jealous…" Random girl number 2 said.

"Nothing you can do to change the past now…" Random girl number 3 joined along in Random girl number 2's interlude.

"Speaking of Ruka-kun, have you heard?" Random boy number 1 spoke up.

"No, what?" Random boy number 2 asked.

"Well, it seems that Natsume-sama and the some other rebels went over to the other side and were brought home."

"Oh, is that so?" Random girl number 2 piped up, her eyes growing curious.

"Well, I heard it was only a rumor, but who knows?" Random girl number 3 straightened her glasses.

It seemed that they forgot about us being there anyway. We both watched them walk away.

"Well, that's good news ain't it?" I tried to fake a smile, making an effort to cover up my sadness.

"What? …Yeah?" Mikan said, her head bowed. A hint of grief escaping from her voice. I rested my head on hers and held her hand.

"It's OK." A teardrop fell on my hand.


	13. Chapter 13

_Tonight I've fallen and I can't get up_

_I need your loving hands to come and pick me up_

_And every night I miss you I would just look up,_

_And know the stars are holding you, holding you tonight._

_Tonight by FM Static  
_

**

* * *

Chapter 13: Happy**

_[One year later…]_

_**Hotaru's POV**_

I huffed as I took a last look around my hotel room. I was going to miss the amenities of this place, but of course, not the people.

Sayonara, losers.

"Aminatsu! Please inform the chauffer that I'm ready to leave."

"Yes, Hotaru-sama!"

"Usagi-Piyo!" I called out the clumsy looking Ruka-bot I made last September.

"Here, Hotaru-hime!" He joyfully whistled

"My bags…"

"Right away, Hotaru-hime!" He bowed before vanishing into the other room to get my luggage. He came back moments later, struggling to carry the heavy weight of my bags.

I rolled my eyes. Then he fell, sending all my belongings scattered all over the place. Just as clumsy as the real Ruka. I glared at him angrily.

"Gomenasai! Gomenasai! Forgive me, Hotaru-hime!" He cried out. Interns, I rolled my eyes again.

When he was out of my sight, I smiled. I was still happy.

_**Natsume's POV**_

"Onii-chan! Time for lunch!" Aoi's calls made me wake up from my little cat nap on the branch of a tree. I sighed. I jumped off the tree and reexamined it for the fifth time.

It's not MY sakura tree, but it would have to do.

I walked into the house where Aoi was busy preparing the table, stirring some soup, and spooning some kind of mush into a bowl. Beats me, she was all over the place. Then I took a sniff and smelled something good. Must be Aoi's mush and stew.

"Where's dad?"

"Otou-chan went to the Town Centre to buy some materials and supplies."

"He hasn't finished repairing my room's leaking ceilings, huh?"

Aoi shook her head.

I smiled a bit. I'd have to admit, I do respect the way my dad makes me want to feel at home after so long. And even though we were currently living in a broken down old house, our family couldn't get any happier than this.

Aoi was the usual sunny little kid that everyone loved. Dad always was working on a painting everyone came to love, including myself. Heck, I still remember the drawing he made one day, while staring into my eyes. It kinda freaked me out, but afterwards he looked down on his sketch pad and started letting his pencil dance freely all over the paper.

He named it _My Pretty Daughter _and it looked nothing like Aoi, because instead, it looked exactly like the face of a fifteen year old Mikan Sakura. Complete with mesmerizing cow eyes, flowing hair, and all. Amazing. My dad was truly stupendous, which is why I still had that drawing stored inside my bedside cabinet.

And me? Well, I'm still same old. Except now I didn't have to worry about some cocky bastard following me around, telling me what to do. Now, I'm actually happy. But not entirely of course. I still worried about the guys up till now. Aoi says I worry about a lot of things that don't need worrying about, but you know I just have to.

"What's that? Something smells good." Dad staggered to the door under the heavy weight of his load. I quickly walked to him and helped him carry some of the stuff.

"Thanks Natsume." He smiled at me. I was about to put down the things on the floor when I saw something that fell from one of the brown paper bags. I left the rest of the brown paper bags on the floor in front of the kitchen sink. Then I bent down to where the newspaper was.

I picked it up and looked at it suspiciously. It was a newspaper. I began to scan it. I looked the back page and made my way to the very front page where the words **"Gakuen Alice Enters New Era"**. That certainly caught my attention. I read on.

_**Gakuen Alice Enters New Era**_

_Zaibatsu Corporation CEO, Heihachi Zaibatsu was present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Alice Academy yesterday morning. "Now that this prestigious school has undergone a new face, it's about time it deserves a good ribbon-cutting ceremony to represent the start of a new era", he tells the media. After reportedly turning the tables on the Elementary School Principal of the said school, media asks this "superman" about his plans for the future after accomplishing the impossible not longer than a year ago. "Well, this ceremony is also held for those fearless soldiers or students who bravely helped us in extinguishing the ruthless plans of their Elementary School Principal. Which is why I plan to offer them a better life here at the academy as a sign of my sincere gratitude." _

_It really does appear that this elite school has undergone several changes. Students are reportedly said to be allowed a hometown visit each month and freely receive or send letters. The academy is also going through various security measures to ensure the safety of its students and is also undergoing several agreements with various companies to settle the past disputes that were rumored to be started by the mysterious ESP who allegedly vanished on the night of November 27__th__ last year…_

I stopped reading. This was enough. This was one thing I was grateful to read. At least now, I knew that Mikan and the others were happy and free from danger while they were staying in the academy. If this was really kind of life they lived now, then I should be happy. I just hope that handing over the academy to this corporation won't be anything regretful.

My eyes trailed to the picture of a tiny, fragile-looking man in glasses right above the words _Zaibatsu Corporation CEO, Heihachi Zaibatsu_. He looks familiar, hmm…

"Nii-chan! You better go eat here before the food starts to get cold."

I suddenly realized I was still standing in front of the kitchen sink and headed to the table with the newspaper in hand.

After reaching the table, I folded the newspaper and laid it on the table, hoping Dad would read it later on.

_**Aoi's POV**_

Later that night, Onii-chan still remained on the big tree in front of our house. He had been lying on its branches the whole afternoon, napping. And he still hasn't come down. Right now, he's still up there, but this time, looking at the stars as if he hasn't seen them for so long.

I walked over to the tree and remained silent for a minute while I carefully studied his expression. He looked lonely.

"Nii-chan…" I called out to him. His head poked through the leaves.

"What is it?"

"Can you come down here and go stargazing with me?"

"Don't want to. The view's better up here."

"But I'm all alone down here."

"Fine." He nimbly made his way down the giant tree and sat with me on the grass under the tree. The stars were especially pretty tonight, especially because Onii-chan was here to gaze at them with me. The moon was also very bright tonight, casting a faint luminous glow all around us, bathing the entire place in nothing but moonlight.

I was looking down at my hands when I saw something faintly glimmer in between Nii-chan's sealed fingers.

"Nii-chan, what's that in your hand?"

"Nothing."

"Lemme see." He opened his hand and showed me a tiny stone. It must have been an Alice Stone. Wow, pretty. I wish I could make one for him and for Otou-chan, but unfortunately, I didn't have an Alice anymore.

I took the minute stone from his hand and examined it closely. It held a pretty orange color and it glimmered slightly under the moonlight.

"Give it back."

"You must really miss Mikan, don't you?"

"I said give it."

"Her eyes did shine like the stars, am I right? Or was it her smile that shown out the brightest?"

He quieted down. Then he sighed. "Maybe both. But I really do miss her."

"Really?"

"Terribly."

"Then maybe you should return to the academy if you wanna be with her so much."

He looked at me. His face held this almost radiant glow under the moon. I smiled. Then he hugged me.

"You can go, if you want to." I said a little sadly.

"Thank you." He whispered.


	14. Chapter 14

_I thought time was on our side,_

_I put in far too many years, to let this pass us by._

_You see life is a crazy thing, there'll be good times and there'll be bad times,_

_And everything else in between. _

_And I don't know, which way it's gonna go._

_If it's gonna be a rainy day, there's nothing we can do to make it change,_

_You can't pray for sunny weather, that won't stop the rain._

_Feeling like you've got no place to run, I can be your shelter til the sun,_

_We can make this last forever, so please don't stop the rain._

_Please Don't Stop The Rain by James Morrison  
_

**

* * *

Chapter 14: I Need A Hug**

_[Outside the Main Gate]_

Crimson met purple as two people noticed each other while walking towards the gate of Gakuen Alice.

A battle ensued.

"What are you doing here?"

"Same question I might ask you Imai."

"I thought you left."

"Looks like I'm back."

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Places. None of your business. You?"

"Places. None of your business, Hyuuga."

"Whatever."

"Err, Imai-san, are you ready to go in?" A nervous chauffer interrupted them. Hotaru looked at him and nodded, then she looked at Natsume again and sent him a glare as she coolly made her way to the gate, two robots trailing behind her with her stuff.

Natsume followed, lugging a suitcase behind with one hand.

_[Inside the academy…]_

A pretty brunette girl of fifteen looked up at the sky.

"Ruka, it's getting pretty dark. You better take out your umbrella."

"Rain in February, right after winter, hmm, who knew?" A blue-eyed boy of the same age with cornsilk hair muttered while taking out an umbrella from his knapsack.

From afar, you wouldn't even recognize these two people, considering the changes they went through not only physically, but emotionally and mentally too.

Mikan Sakura wasn't what the infamous Natsume Hyuuga would call 'The flat-chested ugly' anymore, because she had, ahem, developed some curves, grew a bit taller and held a more graceful statuesque compared to before. Her face also changed since it grew longer and was now framed by a lovely frame of honey brown locks that wonderfully complimented her matching brown eyes.

With Natsume gone and a tall, well-made build crowned with an adorable face to die for to top it all off, Ruka Nogi officially had the hardest time to control his growing number of fangirls. The same clumsy and stuttering blonde boy everyone knew and loved finally evolved into a somewhat confident and charismatic young man everyone grew to love even more. The only things that remained the same were his brilliant light cornflower eyes and small sunny grin that still held its boyish quality and charm after all this time.

Ruka opened his umbrella just as the rain started to pour, accompanied by late February's chilly winds. Mikan shivered as the wind blew in their direction.

"Why don't we go back to the dorms now?"

"Let's." They started walking faster towards the dorm building when a robot carrying three heavy-looking suitcases zoomed past them, shortly followed by a clumsy looking robot that resembled Ruka.

"Was that - ?" He was interrupted by a voice from behind them.

"No pointing at my robots, that's rude."

"Hotaru?" Mikan spun around to find a stunningly beautiful raven-haired girl standing behind her.

"Imai?!" Ruka was mesmerized, there and then.

"Oi, ugly, stop staring at Imai." A midnight-haired, crimson-eyed boy came into view. Mikan squinted her eyes since the falling rain made it harder for her to see who it was.

"Cut the egotistical crap, Hyuuga." Hotaru elbowed the boy that stood beside her.

"Fine. Did you miss me Polka?" He monotonously said. Mikan was lost for words. Then, she ran to him, like a child to his mother after his first day of school, and a girl to her lover, after not seeing him for a very long time.

Hotaru went under the cover of a tree nearby. Ruka followed beside her. They both watched their best friends stare at each other in the rain.

Natsume acted, without thinking, and gave a short peck on Mikan's lips. Mikan's eyes widened. She felt a blush slowly creep into her face. Hotaru felt bile slowly rising in her throat.

_Why that little… _Hotaru's fist tightened while her other hand reached for her horse-hoof glove in her bag.

_…What just happened? _A happy yet somewhat sad Ruka watched from the sidelines.

_…WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! _Mikan grew redder.

_Stupid, stupid. _Natsume closed his eyes.

Then almost too suddenly, he felt warm lips touch his for a short while. He opened his eyes when their lips parted.

"Need a hug?" Mikan beamed at him. Her dazzling smile shown brightly against the gray drops of rain and huffs of wind.

Natsume nodded.

The rain grew stronger and stronger as Mikan and Natsume were closed into a tight and warm embrace. Hot versus cold, inviting against frosty. That was one sentence to describe that embrace.

Ruka smiled, while Hotaru's eyes softened while watching the two of them share a hug underneath the storm clouds. She truly was feeling sincere happiness for her best friend, and Ruka was too, even though he knew he had to let go.

But as he once again glanced in Hotaru's direction, he, for the first time, found a light that shone through Hotaru's cold and indifferent exterior. He didn't know why or how, but it just suddenly made sense. He stretched out his arm, offering the umbrella to her.

"Nice try, I don't come cheap, Nogi." She glared coldly at Ruka.

"Please? You might catch cold, and we wouldn't want you blaming me for that, right?" Ruka grinned.

Hotaru rolled her eyes and whispered 'fine'. She crept closer to Ruka, while they shared some cover under the same umbrella.

Mikan hugged Natsume tighter, keeping her eyes closed. Natsume complied and rested his cheek on Mikan's head.

***

As cheesy as it sounds, those four people stayed under the rain for quite some time. Although it didn't sound good, it was fine, since each of them found their own warmth on the way.

* * *

_Got a feeling in my soul, love burns brighter than sunshine._

_Brighter than sunshine._

_Let the rain fall, I don't care._

_I'm yours and suddenly you're mine,_

_and it's brighter than sunshine._

_Brighter Than Sunshine by Aqualung  
_


	15. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

To all those who supported my very first fanfic, thank you so much. :D The storyline and plot might have been a little suckish but I promise that I'll make my next story better. Sorry for all the typos and grammatical errors too, haha, I don't really have time to proofread anymore ever since school started.

I just hope you continue to support me in all the stories I publish. Thanks. :D

_Truly Yours, foxtrotelly_

P.S. Watch out for my next GA fanfic, "My Baby-Bearing Diaries", starring Tsubasa and Misaki. If you have any suggestions for a different title, please don't hesitate to ask. :D Thanks!


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